it is iced coffee weather...

and my heart is happy.

Homemade Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese.

HOMEMADE TOMATO SOUP
3 pounds, medium plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
4 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pinch sugar
3 tablespoons butter
4 shallots, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Arrange tomatoes, flesh side up, on one sheet tray. Combine olive oil, cracked peppper, kosher salt and sugar in a small bowl. Brush the tomatoes with mixture, making sure they are well covered.

Roast in the middle rack of the oven until tomatoes are brown and tender, about 50 minutes. Cool slightly.

Melt butter in 4-quart saucepan over medium heat. Saute the shallots for 2 minutes, and then mix in tomato paste for a few more minutes. Add chicken stock and Mrs. Dash. Add heavy cream and heat over low heat.

Move roasted tomatoes into a blender. Carefully pour soup over roasted tomatoes and blend well. Return soup to sauce pan. Bring soup to a boil then reduce heat to low and let simmer for 10 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into serving bowls and garnish generously with fresh basil.

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For the grilled cheese, I used colby and sourdough. Here are a couple tricks for perfect grilled cheese:
1. Spread a mixture of room temperature butter and garlic salt on the outsides of the bread.
2. Use an easy-to-melt cheese like Colby or Jack. Cheddar takes longer.
3. Cover the pan between flipping, trapping more heat, making melt-y cheese.

Shepherd's Pie.
I "borrowed" this recipe from one of Chuck's friends Sara Arnold, who "borrowed" it from Paula Dean. Shepherd's Pie is the best kind of homecooked meal... meat and potatoes included! Here's my variation below.

mmm CHILI!

this one turned out FABULOUSLY. it's based on a FoodNetwork.com recipe, but I took some liberties.

here is a link to the original: Chunky Chicken Chili

CHUNKY CHICKEN CHILI
1 stick butter, divided
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup red pepper, diced
1/4 cup green pepper, diced
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons Mrs. Dash Southwest Chipotle Seasoning
1 tablespoon cracked black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 (14.5-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained
2 (4-ounce) cans mild green chiles
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups grated Cheddar, for garnish
3 tablespoons chopped parsley leaves, for garnish

First, get all of your ingredients prepared and measured on the counter. This recipe moves fast, so there isn't much time for prep once you start.

Second, the original recipe calls for a number of spices--Chili Powder, Coriander, Cumin--that would have cost me a good $10 for way more than I would use in the next year. Instead, I read the labels of some Mrs. Dash varieties until I found one that matched the recipe and included each of those spices, plus more. An economical decision at only $2.

Third, this recipe called for cooking in a Dutch Oven, which I don't really have. I have a crock-pot, which is similar. So instead of preparing the entire meal in a Dutch Oven, I prepared the sauce in a frying pan, poured it into a pre-heated crock-pot, and added the rest of the ingredients. Worked fabulously.


Alright... onto the directions:

In a large pan, melt 4 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken pieces until nicely colored and cooked through. Remove chicken to a large plate and shred. To shred, hold the chicken with one fork and pull with another.

Using the same pan, stir in the flour. This will create a roux. Stir in the onions and peppers. Add the chicken stock to deglaze the pan and stir in the heavy cream. Lower heat and cook until the mixture thickens, about 5 minutes. Once the sauce has thickened, add the Mrs. Dash, black pepper and the salt. Stir and cook for a few minutes.

Transfer the sauce to a crock-pot pre-heated on High. Add the cannellini beans, chiles and the chicken and cook for another 30. Stir every 5-10 minutes. At the very end, mix in the sour cream.

Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with Cheddar and parsley.


MAMA LARK'S FAMOUS CORNBREAD
1 package Jiffy Cornbread Mix
1/3 cup Milk
1 egg
1 can creamed corn
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon Kosher salt

Combine mix, milk, egg, and corn in one bowl. Whisk. Pour mix into an 8x8" glass Pyrex. Melt butter and honey together, pour over mix. Sprinkle salt over mix. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, until golden.

a Lark Family Classic: Italian Acorn Squash

this is a recipe I had to grow to love, but now it's a personal favorite. my parents actually use Italian Sausage instead of ground beef, but I don't like the flavor of fennel. ;)

ITALIAN ACORN SQUASH

Ingredients:
1 Acorn Squash (Feeds 2)
Butter
Kosher Salt
Fresh Ground Pepper
Spaghetti Sauce (I ALWAYS use Bertolli Sweet Basil)
1 LB Ground Beef
Mozzarella, Parmesan, etc.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Cut Acorn Squash into two halves. Remove innards, but be careful not to remove too much of the orange meat from the sides.

Melt one tablespoon of butter and coat inside of each half. Season with Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper.

Wrap both halves in foil, and place them flat surface down inside the oven. (Pan is optional.) Start checking for softness at 45 minutes. You want the skin to give with a squeeze, without being mushy.

While the squash is cooking, brown the ground beef in a large pan. When the beef is cooked, drain and add spaghetti sauce. Simmer.

Once the squash is ready, take the halves from the oven and remove foil. Pour beef and sauce mixture inside, filling almost to the top. Cover with mozzarella and Parmesan, broil until the cheese starts to brown.

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that's it! quite easy, and very delicious.

note: you'll have leftover beef and spaghetti sauce mixture... save that and have spaghetti tomorrow. Yum!

Christmas Cookies.

there is something really exciting about our first married Christmas.

I'm usually a Christmas Junkie anyway. I love the carols, wrapping gifts... I even like driving in Christmas traffic just a little bit.

but I just want to say, Christmas is REALLY exciting this year.

that said, I want to share my mom's Gingerbread Cookie recipe. even if you don't love gingerbread, you should really try these. they're chewy, not crunchy, and the ginger flavor is pretty minimal. I'll post some pictures later.

MAMA LARK'S CHEWY GINGERBREAD COOKIES
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 tsp clove
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat over to 375 degrees.

Cream shortening and sugar in large bowl.

Add molasses and egg, cream.

Sift together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. If you don't have a sifter, combine the ingredients in a bowl with a lid and shake well.

Add powder mixture to creamed mixture. Mix ingredients, cover bowl, and chill for 1-2 hours.

Use a baller to make dough balls. Roll each ball in sugar, place on a cookie sheet. Leave room for spreading during bake.

Bake 12-14 minutes, let cool completely before eating.

I am thankful for...

+ my lovely home and all our Christmas decorations.
+ our church family and the ministry we share.
+ parents. I have two sets of amazing parents.
+ friendship, and everything that goes with it.
+ my husband. how he's always patient and always kind.

roasting pumpkin seeds.

I regret never paying attention when my mother did things like roast pumpkin seeds... I was just grateful when they appeared, and ready to eat.

for everyone else who didn't pay attention, here's how you do it:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
2. Cut the top off your pumpkin. (Cut it nicely if you plan on carving.)
3. Remove the seeds, and put them in a colander.
4. Run hot water over the seeds, and swirl until the orange separates.
5. Remove as much of the orange innards as you can.
6. Blot the seeds in the colander with a paper towel.
7. Coat a baking sheet lightly with olive oil.
8. Spread your seeds evenly over the baking sheet.
9. Sprinkle with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper. (More salt than pepper, but to taste.)
10. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven, stir.
11. Bake for another 10-15 minutes.

that's it! but don't let them brown. pumpkin seeds are best just a little underdone.

12. EAT!